


We'll Change Destiny Together

by MissSparklingWriter



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2020-09-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:48:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26703202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissSparklingWriter/pseuds/MissSparklingWriter
Summary: Nobody, no matter how great, can know their destiny. They cannot glimpse their part in the great story that is about to unfold. Like everyone, they must live and learn. And so it will be for the twin sorcerers arriving at the gates of Camelot — twins that will inspire the legend. Their names:  Merlin and Emilia.
Relationships: Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)/Original Female Character(s), Gwen/Lancelot (Merlin), Merlin & Morgana (Merlin)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 5





	We'll Change Destiny Together

“There it is,” Merlin called from the crest of the hill. His bags sat abandoned next to him and his chest heaved as he caught his breath. As he looked back towards Emilia she saw him grinning and laughing as he pointed outwards. “We made it,” he declared. “There it is, there’s Camelot.” 

The sun blazed through the sky behind him, turning the horizon golden in its light. A cold wind had picked up, touching Emilia’s heated skin in a welcome embrace. Strands of her hair began to blew into her face. She tucked them behind her ear. Merlin’s hair was side-swept by the way he was stood. He seemed unfazed by this as he turned back to his view. Even from behind, Emilia could read the joy in his stance as his fingers clenched and unclenched at his side and the way he cast his gaze over the rest of their journey to come. 

“Did you doubt we’d get there?” Emilia panted as she climbed the final steps to stand next to her brother. More hair strands were blown into her face and she held them back. 

Before them was a gentle slope down onto a field which led onto a thin strip woodland surrounding their destination. Out of the woodland rose a magnificent ivory wall. Emilia took in the sight of the castle rising up above the wall. Smoke billowed up from the distance and scarlet flags whipped the air around them. Already she could hear the quiet bustle of noise within the city - their new home. So near and yet it brought to mind how far she and Merlin had actually travelled. 

“No,” Merlin answered. “But it’s been so long, I was starting to think we’d be on the road forever.” He ran a hand through his hair adjusting it only for the wind to blow it back. 

“Ealdor is a great distance,” Emilia replied. “You’ve come so far, Merlin.”

“And you’ve come further,” said Merlin. “You’ve been travelling for so long.”

“I wouldn’t say travelling,” Emilia insisted, “more, learning on the move. There are fewer and fewer safe places to live and practice magic in peace,” she continued, “and yet here we are going to live in the city of the man responsible for that.”

Merlin looked at her. “Camelot is a fresh start, safer than Ealdor and wherever you were. We won’t struggle for food or get raided here.”

“We might just get executed for having magic instead.” 

“Not if we’re careful. Besides Gaius is here. He’s not a stranger.”

“He is kind of. We’ve never met the guy,” Emilia pointed out. She gave her brother a slight smile. “But you’re right. At least we know someone here, from his letters anyway.”

Merlin’s hand found hers and squeezed her fingers. “You really don’t have to stay here because of me. If you want to go back to the priestesses… you should.”

Emilia cupped his hand between both of hers. “No, I want to be here. I do. I’ve completed my training. It’s time to step out on my own. Besides… in all those years training with them, I missed out on time with you. This will be good for us.”

“It’s not like you didn’t give me the option to study with you.” Merlin reminded her.

“We both know that every sorcerer’s path is different. You wanted to study at home and that worked for you.”

“Except for the part of no one except Mother and William liking me there.”

“Camelot won’t be like that. We can be who we want to be here. We can start again.” Emilia said “Gaius will help us, like he said. I’m just…”

“I know.” Merlin whispered. 

Emilia released his hand and pulled her silk cloak around her. It matched her fading blue travel gown perfectly, adding a touch of glamour to her attire. Then there was Merlin who was dressed as the farm boy he was raised with his brown jacket and plain pants. The only things of bright colour were his blue shirt and red neckerchief - a gift from their mother. Emilia smiled to herself at the thought of how different they would look walking into Camelot but then she supposed she and Merlin had spent their entire lives being different.

*************************

“Wow, they weren’t lying,” Emilia murmured as she and Merlin walked through the streets of Camelot, up from the lower town towards the stone citadel above. “It’s wonderful here. There’s so much going on.”

“Who wasn’t lying?” Merlin asked as he side-stepped past a woman carrying two babies and holding onto a dog’s lead’s like her life depended on it. 

“Everyone I ever asked about this place.” 

“So you weren’t worried about coming here at all then,” Merlin tried and failed to suppress a smirk. 

Emilia rolled her eyes. “Shut up, Merlin.”

They took the clearest road to the citadel, leaving behind the masses of wooden, cramped houses. Emilia was glad to step away from the jostling crowd and turn along the cobbled road to the citadel. The noise immediately lessened and Emelia took a few steps away from her brother, no longer in danger of losing him among the crowd. She looked over the two guards, armoured with red capes, either side of the arched entrance into the citadel. Slowing down, she turned to look back at the lower town. She felt Merlin move as well. 

“I love it,” Merlin declared. “Look at all these people. And they can’t all come to hate me.”

“I don’t know, give them time,” Emelia smirked and yelped as Merlin elbowed her. She staggered sideways and caught her footing. She shoved at her laughing brother. “Idiot!”

“You’re the idiot.”

“Yeah, you wish.” Emelia countered, laughing. She glanced back at the lower town and then turned towards the archway. “I wonder if Camelot is prepared for you.”

“I wonder if it’s prepared for both of us.” 

Emelia slipped her arm through his. “You’re the problem child not me.”

Merlin scoffed. “Ahem, I think you’re living in la la land again. I believe the blueberry incident was of your own making, and the sheep incident, and the cheese disaster six years ago. That was a good one. Maybe I should warn people about you,” he laughed as she swatted his arm. 

“Any story you can tell about me, I can tell a dozen more about you.” 

“Can you though? You said yourself, you weren’t here for a lot of it.”

“Oi,” Emelia’s laughter died down and she elbowed him gently. “I still have enough stories,” she protested before her voice went quiet, “and you know I’m sorry about that.”

Merlin’s features relaxed as he smiled down at her. “I know.” He grinned. “You’re so easy.”

Emelia hit him yet again. “Maybe I should warn people that you’re so awful.”

They started walking again, this time past the guards and through the darkened archway. On the other side, a huge courtyard opened up in front of them. More guards stood around the place. A great staircase at the far end of the courtyard led to wooden double doors. Nearby arches lined an outdoor corridor to a smaller door. Servants were passing in and out of it. A couple of knights were mounting their horses, beckoning their squires to get out of the way as they set off at a trot. On the other side of the courtyard, a great wooden platform was being dismantled by a dozen servants. As she and Merlin passed, she saw many planks were covered in blood. 

“Execution stand, check,” she murmured to Merlin who was also staring at it. 

“That will never be us,” he assured her. 

“I hope so,” she whispered back. 

Near the foot of the steps, a man was pacing slowly up and down. He was getting on in many years with neck length snowy white hair and dressed in plain red robes. On one arm dangled a basket of herbs. He was staring thoughtfully ahead of him as he walked. He didn’t see the two of them approaching so Emelie quickened her pace. 

“Gaius?” she called, remembering his letter. _I will be collecting herbs the day you arrive so you should know me by the basket._

The man looked up and in their direction. “Yes?” he called out. Seeing her and Merlin advancing, he began to smile. “Emelia and Merlin?”

“Yes,” Merlin grinned with relief. He held out his hand and Gaius shook it. Emelie followed suit. “Thanks for meeting us.”

“It’s no problem. It’s good to meet you both,” Gaius said releasing Emelie’s hand. “I see you made good timing.”

“Yes we did,” Emelie answered before Merlin could respond with a potential remark on how long it took them to get here. 

Gaius looked at the pair of them with a bemused smile. “It’s not often that I get to meet twins. All of the ones I’ve met look so different from each other. But you two look so alike. I can see a great deal of Hunith in you both.”

Both Merlin and Emilia smiled. It wasn’t a remark that was new to them. Most people commented on their likeness when they first met them. Merlin had a lanky look to him as he towered above Emilia in height whereas Emilia had more of a fuller figure. They shared their mother’s dark brown hair except unlike her mother Emilia preferred to wear hers down. It reached her lower back these days. They also both shared bright blue eyes. But where Merlin’s face was narrow, Emilia’s was heart-shaped. Even their dress sense was different: Merlin preferred understated colours and clothes while Emilia usually opted for something more colourful.

“Thank you,” Merlin told Gaius. “She asked us to give you a letter once we arrived.”

“I see,” Gaius said. “Well I’ll be happy to read it once we get you settled in. Welcome to Camelot,” he smiled, “and follow me.”

He led them along the corridor framed by arches and into the castle through what was clearly the servants quarters. The halls were plain but tidy. Emilia had thought that a man like Uther Pendragon would drape his castle with tapestries and portraits. But apparently the king was more frugal than she thought. Or maybe he was just tight-fisted. When she thought about what he was doing to magical folk, it wasn’t a stretch to imagine him a miser too. 

There were many turns and short hallways before they ascended some stairs and passed by a plaque which read Physician’s Quarters. Along another winding corridor they finally came to a wide wooden door which stood open. Through it was a large space that seemed to be a combination of a library, living area and an infirmary. Jars of various ingredients lined some shelves while other shelves were overwhelmed with piles of books. A table sat to one side of the room and a small cot lay near the fireplace. 

“This is where we’ll be working,” Gaius said, before nodding to a room at the back. “There’s my quarters. Now let me show you yours.” He walked away from the door and around a narrow curve in the corridor. The twins followed him until he reached a window signalling the end. Adjacent to the window, on opposing walls, were two doorways. Gaius turned to face them. His white hair was bathed in a pale gold tint from the high afternoon light. “The King has given me these rooms to offer you. They are basic but they will have all you need.” He looked towards Emilia. “Ladies first.”

Emilia chose the door to her right. Gaius was right, she thought, as she stepped inside, it was basic. The room consisted of a bed, a tiny bedside able, an old trunk and a desk. It was a great deal more than she’d had most nights on her travels, sleeping under the stars. She walked further into the room. Above the bedside table, a window had been opened, filling the room with fresh air. Emilia peered out. From here she could see right out over the lower town. She smiled as she lowered her bag onto the bed. She turned to face Gaius again. 

“It’s wonderful, thank you.” She told him. 

“Yeah, thank you. This is great,” Merlin spoke from the opposite room. 

“You’re both very welcome,” Gaius said. “I expect you’re hungry after your travels. I’ll make us some food and then we need to talk about Camelot. Come through once you’re unpacked.”

“We will,” Merlin told him. As Gaius walked off, he shot Emilia a massive grin. “These rooms are really good.” He said as he stepped into hers. “We really made it here.” He whispered, exhaling softly. “This is it. This is our fresh start.”

Emilia smiled back at her brother. She reached for his hand. “It is a fresh start. You can be happy here, Merlin. We can be happy here.” She suppressed the growing doubt in her chest, the tiny wondering of how well she could fit in to a land with a ban on magic. But they would make it work. She was determined that they would.

“Although there is another issue,” Merlin said in a quiet voice, eyeing the door. “Where do we hide our book? We can’t exactly flaunt them on our bookshelves.” He looked around the room. “We could hide them at the bottom of our trunks,” he suggested. 

“No. If Uther does a random search, they’ll be discovered quickly,” Emilia answered. She examined her room herself. The options were really quite limited. “It’s got to be somewhere they think is impossible to hide anything. Like in the wall, behind a loose stone.” She eyed the walls of her bedroom. Like the rest of the castle, they had been crafted smoothly with not so much as a crack. Emilia exhaled heavily.

“Or the floor,” Merlin said, looking down at Emilia’s feet. She followed his gaze and grinned. The floor consisted of giant stone squares packed in together but with just enough cracks to see the separate stonework. 

“Perfect,” she said, kneeling down. “Watch the door.” She held her hands above the stone. Channeling the power through her fingers, she began to lift the stone. As she moved it to one side, she was pleased to see a good-sized space between the other stones. She grabbed her bag and quickly retrieved her spell books. One by one, she put the trio into the hole. She then waved a hand over the stone. It shrank to half of its original depth. She levitated it back into its original position. It fit together as though it had never been moved. 

Merlin laughed soflty. “That’s brilliant.”

“Okay let’s do your room,” she said. 

*************************

Once Merlin’s hiding hole had been set up and both twins unpacked, they headed to the infirmary to meet up with Gaius. Merlin had abandoned his jacket and Emilia her cloak. They walked into the room to a hearty smell of cooking and the sound of the crackling fireplace. 

“That was good timing,” the physician said as he poured soup into three bowls then ripped up chunks of bread, laying them beside each one. He gestured for them to sit. 

“This looks great,” Merlin enthused as they sat down. 

“It’s not really that special,” Gaius smiled as he poured some water for them all. “I’m not particularly adventurous with my meals.”

“Me neither,” the twins chorused. Emilia rolled her eyes as she laughed. 

“I prefer good simple food,” she admitted. “The easier to make the better.” She dipped her bread into the soup and bit into it. 

For the first ten minutes or so the three of them ate in silence and all that could be heard was the crackling of the fireplace. A few comfortable yet slightly awkward smiles were exchanged, and a few looks around the room were cast. Finally Merlin cleared his throat and spoke.

“So Uther’s banned magic for twenty years,” he remarked between sips of his soup. “But he’s not a young man is he? So what happened?”

Gaius hesitated, his spoon halfway to his lips. His eyes grew focused as he looked at Merlin. “I’ll be honest Merlin, you’ve asked me a question I’m not really allowed to answer. But let me just say this. Uther had an experience with magic that set things in motion for the past twenty years. It put him off the practice for life, no matter if it’s used for light or dark purposes. He thinks that banning magic has made Camelot a better place and in a way, it has saved the kingdom from being harassed by dark magic.”

Emilia lowered her bread onto her plate. “But at the cost of making him so many enemies. There are so many who want to take action against him for all the lives he’s taken. Why didn’t he just ban dark magic?”

Gaius looked grave. “It wasn’t dark magic that caused all of this.” 

Merlin looked between the two of them. “Does he know about you?”

“He does. But he promised to spare me if I swore off magic for life.” Gaius answered him.

“So he’s a hypocrite,” said Emilia. “Not that I’m not glad he spared you.”

Gaius smiled slightly. “I won’t deny that. He is a very flawed man. But he’s also driven by fear and grief. He lost his wife twenty years ago and that changed him. I honestly believe that if Igraine were here then Uther would handled his issue with magic differently.” He took a sip of his water. “You both need to be careful about using your magic. Uther doesn’t need any encouraging to become suspicious of magic. If you’re caught, you won’t get a fair trial.”

“I wasn’t expecting that we would,” Emilia muttered, thinking about the bloody execution platform in the courtyard. “We got a glimpse of Uther’s justice system.”

“That young man was careless, rest his soul,” Gaius said. 

“We won’t be,” said Merlin. “I’m used to hiding my magic. Only our mother and Will knew about it, and Emilia of course.” 

Gaius looked towards Emilia who was staring down into her soup. “Are you going to be all right with hiding who you are?”

Emilia nodded, not trusting herself to speak. The weight of necessity bore down upon her shoulders. When she’d been travelling around, she had been open about her powers, studying magic and using it to help people. Here it would become her secret, like it was something to be ashamed of. _You knew this going in,_ she reminded herself. A _nd if it’s too much, you can just leave._ Except she couldn’t, she realised as the thought crept into her head. Leaving would mean abandoning Merlin all over again. Camelot wasn’t just his fresh start. It was hers, with her brother.

“I can hide it,” she said. 


End file.
